Frank Thomas, (born Sept. 5, 1912, Santa Monica, Calif.—died Sept. 8, 2004, Flintridge, Calif.) American animator who , created some of the most memorable moments in animated film history, most notably the spaghetti dinner scene in Walt Disney’s The Lady and the Tramp (1955). One of Disney’s core circle of master animators—a group that Disney referred to as his “Nine Old Men”—Thomas drew praise for his ability to convey emotion through his characters without straying into excessive sentimentality.

EXPLORE these related biographies:

American newspaper cartoonist who was also a pioneer of animated films. At age 21, McCay started working as a poster and billboard artist for a Chicago company. In 1904, after working as an illustrator and cartoonist for various newspapers in Chicago, in Cincinnati, Ohio, and in New York City, he created two successful comic strips, Little Sammy Sneeze...

American motion-picture and television producer and showman, famous as a pioneer of animated cartoon films and as the creator of such cartoon characters as Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck. He also planned and built Disneyland, a huge amusement park that opened near Los Angeles in 1955, and before his death he had begun building a second such park, Walt...

American animator and special-effects technician who, among many other achievements, brought the world-renowned cartoon character Mickey Mouse to life. Iwerks was the son of an immigrant German barber. When he was 18 years old, he met and befriended Walt Disney, a fellow employee at the Pesman-Rubin Commercial Art Studio in Kansas City. After an unsuccessful...